Scorpio's Lot (77 page)

‘Can I help you gentlemen?’ he
asked, glancing at Arthur and Hamish’s clothing.

‘Certainly. We wish to delve into
some past records covering the township of Pedley in the Shire of Ripley,’ I
replied.

‘Could you be more specific about
the type of records you wish to pursue?’

‘Preferably the earlier editions,
say in excess of fifty years or so.’

‘Take the lift to level three and
proceed to the room directly ahead. There you’ll find some computers to assist
with your research. Will Doctor Watson be joining you?’ he asked with a
straight face.

‘Not today. He’s been called away
on duty,’ I acknowledged with a wink.

The so-called archive room was no
more than a small computer workplace with no visual evidence of stored
newspapers, unlike its Pedley counterpart. I could only surmise these editions
were off-limits to the general public, being maintained in a climate-controlled
environment to preserve their frail condition. Four workstations were provided,
together with the convenience of a Canon photocopier located to one side. The
Perkins Press website address was displayed above each terminal screen.

‘Okay team, grab a computer each
and see what we can come up with,’ I encouraged, deliberately seating myself
between the two.

‘Here we go, here we go, here we
go,’ sung Hamish as if standing and watching a soccer game in progress.

We commenced our research. I
entered ‘Pedley news coverage’ and waited. The system finally responded with an
abundance of web pages, some of which would require further investigation. To
my right Hamish continued to stare at his screen with folded arms. I looked
across at what might be delaying his input and was astounded to read his first
search criterion:

Where would I find the
subterranean passageways?

‘Do you really believe for one
minute the answer will simply appear on the screen that two hundred years of
research couldn’t uncover?’

‘I prefer shortcuts. Anything’s
worth a try, my friend, and besides, it’s still thinking ... wait a moment,
something’s finally happening ... um ... I don’t think that’s the answer we’re
looking for, Tom.’

The screen displayed the result:

The Vatican City, Rome, Italy.

‘Words fail me, Hamish. Try
referring to Pedley, which may narrow the list next time.’

Returning to my screen, I opened
a web page only to discover it made reference to livestock sales back in March
1952. A second caption offered a drought report with serious consequences, while
a third covered some bridge being erected over the Tidal River to enable direct
passage into Pedley. This wasn’t working the way I had hoped. In order to
extract something more meaningful I had to be more specific with my enquiry. I
tried an array of different approaches.

Pedley underground network ...
cannot display.

I tried again.

Pedley subterranean passageways.

That one generated numerous web
pages. Many articles were found to be contemptuous of the fabled site.
No
substance to warrant further investigation
was the most common response.
Having been down this path with the
Advertiser
critics, I decided to
push on with further possibilities.

Pedley convict labour... cannot
display.

Pedley typhoid epidemic... cannot
display.

Pedley mass burials... cannot
display.

Pedley crown land... two web
pages.

Both captions offered only
government sales to commercial interests.

Pedley Scorpio Syndicate...
cannot display.

Pedley Piedpiper... cannot
display.

Pedley crimes... three web pages.

The first referred to John
Petrie, a twenty-eight year old drug dealer caught and charged for the
possession and distribution of cannabis and heroin. Thought to have city Mafia
connections, bail was granted and promptly paid to the tune of $25,000.00.
Later convicted and jailed for ten years, with a minimum parole period of six
to be served.

Many considered the penalty to be
too light given his alleged five-year span that affected the youth of the
township. I pondered for a moment over the time lapse; this crime was committed
around seventeen years ago and therefore this individual today would be in his
mid-forties.

Reading about this second
criminal, I was surprised to read further reference to a drug-related incident.
In this case the person was known as Lou Hanna, aged approximately thirty-five
years. The crime in this instance was less severe as a result of the drug being
solicited. The so-called soft trade netted him a jail term of five years, with
a minimum three-year parole period. Similarly the Pedley youth were the
targeted clients, with Lou’s reign lasting over two destructive summers. Again
I calculated the time lapse. This would make Hanna a man in his late forties
today.

The third web page made reference
to a youth who deliberately set light to a bakery in Pitt Street. The Pedley
business was burnt down and unfortunately the owners were not insured. Legal
pressure mounted to have the accused, Robert Duncan, and his immediate family
compensate for the loss. Duncan was subsequently charged and served an eighteen-month
sentence in a juvenile detention centre. Today the lad would be in his
mid-twenties, according to my calculations.

I contemplated the three
incidents. I was particularly interested in the drug-related crimes. These
names didn’t mean a thing to me and I wondered if Arthur could throw any light
on the subject. I turned to Sherlock, who was still looking rather comical
dressed in his tweed-chequered outfit.

‘Do the names John Petrie and Lou
Hanna mean anything to you?’

‘Not off-hand. Should they?’ Arthur
said.

‘Both were sentenced for crimes
relating to drug distribution around fifteen to twenty years ago. Both men
today would be in their mid to late forties.’

‘Yes ... now that you mention it,
I can vaguely recall these two. It caused a bit of a storm in town, because up
to that point in time Pedley was basically a drug free community. Sure there
were your isolated cases, but these two, and in particular Petrie, were always
credited for planting the seeds that has turned this place into the drug capital
of the southern region.’

‘I wonder if Petrie or Hanna
still has syndicate connections today.’

‘Who knows? If you’re referring
to Scorpio I have my doubts, because these incidents predate the Piedpiper’s
reign by a few years. I remember Forbes stating this syndicate commenced their
Pedley operations no more than eight years ago.’

‘Fair comment, it was only a
thought.’

‘Tom, we’ve got to keep
everything in prospective if there’s to be progress in this case,’ insisted
Arthur.

‘I wonder if either of these men
lives in Pedley today?’ I further tested Arthur’s recollection.

‘Not that I’m aware of. This
would be the first time either name has been mentioned in all these years. You
must remember I’ve only ever taken a passing interest in these matters. The
drug scene hasn’t exactly grabbed my undivided attention until now.’

‘Fair enough. I came across a
third person by the name of Robert Duncan, but the case in question bears no
relationship to our research. This incident involved a young lad who apparently
burnt down a local bakery.’

‘Oh yes, I remember that one
well. Poor Hank Petrovsky and his family were devastated over that incident and
through the proceeding years they never recouped the financial loss. The law
stinks at times,’ said Arthur.

I turned my attention to Hamish,
who had been surprisingly quiet for the past twenty minutes. So unlike the
Irishman, who enjoyed sharing his research.

‘Anything?’

‘No, I seem to be going around in
circles,’ Hamish said. ‘There’s not much about Pedley at all. Maybe it’s me not
asking the right questions. A bit like the old GIGO theory - garbage in garbage
out.’

‘Keep plugging away,’ I
encouraged.

‘I’ve stumbled across something
rather interesting,’ declared Arthur unexpectedly.

‘What have you found?’ I leaned
towards his monitor to gain a closer look.

‘Under one of these subterranean
web pages the article makes reference to geometric formulas, specifically
triangles.’

‘You’re the engineer, Arthur.
What are they implying?’

‘Not sure yet. They make specific
reference to equilateral triangles,’ offered Arthur.

‘What does that mean?’ asked
Hamish, obviously a bit lost when it came to mathematics.

‘Let’s keep it basic. There are
different types of triangles, all of which serve different purposes dependent on
the intended application. These are classified according to the relative
lengths of their sides -’

‘But why this lesson in geometry?’
I interrupted.

‘For goodness sake, a bit of
patience please! Just wait while I fathom this out. I’ve got to work out the
relevance it has with the subterranean passageways.’ Arthur was obviously a
little annoyed with our impetuousness.

‘Sorry, my friend. The floor is
yours.’

‘An equilateral triangle means
that all three sides have equal length. There are other variations, such as
scalene triangles where all sides have different lengths, or the isosceles
variety having two sides of equal length. Then you have the right angles or the
acute and obtuse types,’ Arthur explained.

‘There are a lot of these little
buggers,’ Hamish said. ‘I’ve only ever heard of a right angle!’

Dismissing the ignorant remark,
Arthur continued with his hypothesis.

‘My great-grandfather referred to
the submerged three-pointed star as the key to the subterranean passageways. An
equilateral triangle is a three-pointed star and therefore a logical deduction,
wouldn’t you say? A three-pointed star is likely to have all sides of equal
length.’

‘That all makes sense, but what
in hell is the three-pointed star?’ I asked.

Hamish surprised both of us with
his response. ‘Could it be a device of some description? Or does it refer to
something in the sky. Or maybe it’s the key to a location. And it’s bloody
submerged, what’s more.’

Arthur responded to Hamish’s
hypotheses. ‘My understanding is the three-pointed star has to be a guide of
some sort. Alfred mentioned in his letter that it be used in conjunction with a
street map.’

‘That may be so, but Hamish’s
comment may carry some weight, meaning the pointed star could be a device of
some kind,’ I replied to give the Irishman some credit.

‘Let’s get back to basics. What
have we got here?’ Arthur reached for a pen and paper to write down some
pointers. When he completed his list, three sets of eyes perused the contents.

Key to the subterranean
passageways is a submerged, three-pointed

star.

A mathematical formula will
assist.

The three-pointed star is likely
to take the shape of an equilateral

triangle.

More information sought regarding
the triangle.

What message does it convey?